Artist to Know: Dev

She rose to fame when she sang the hook on last summer's mega-hit "Like A G6," by Far East Movement. But now, budding superstar Dev is about to blow...and this time, she's doing it all by herself! Cosmogirl sat down with the singer to get the dish on her sound, the music she loves, and what's up next.

CG: How did you get into music, in the very beginning?

D: I always knew I wanted to do it. I come from a really small town so it wasn't anything I spoke about that much, but I always knew. It was probably when I met The Cataracs, three years ago, that I knew music was really going to be my "thing." We started recording out in Berkley, CA, and the first song we recorded together actually got some radio play, so then we were like, "Wow, not only do we get along, but we can actually do something together."

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CG: And you got their attention with a video of you doing an Amy Winehouse cover, right?

D: Yeah, I had a little a cover that I put up on my Myspace. I recorded it in garage band, on my Macbook! The Cataracs heard it and asked if I'd come out to Berkley. The first time I met up with them it was this automatic, natural thing. They're great dudes. I feel really lucky that all my music gets to be produced by my best friends, who know me better than anybody else.

CG: Has your sound changed, since you've been working with them?

D: You can tell my voice is a little...different. Before I met them the songs that I had were definitely hip-hop tracks, and I went to The Cataracs with that sound in mind. The great thing is, they were producing hip-hop, or electronic-hop, whatever you want to call it, music, so we both kind of brought our sounds to the table. We've been doing it now for three years, so now, I'd say it's a mix of both our sounds.

CG: Let's talk a little bit about "Like A G6." What's the story there?

D: The Cataracs and Far East Movement had a studio session together. They were all in the studio together and The Cataracs made the beat and they were like, 'You know, we think that Dev's bridge for her song "Booty Bounce" would sound really cool, as a hook for this song.' They played around with it for a while, and then called me to ask if I was into it. The beat was amazing so I was definitely in. There was no pressure though--it was just us doing our thing, vibing out, and it ended up being a little bit of a banger!

CG: What's on your iPod right now?

D: I've always really been into Eminem. I actually rap one of his verses in my live set. Nicki Minaj is amazing too. She's doing a lot of great things for females in that genre. Rihanna too. I just saw Bruno Mars, and he is amazing live--an amazing vocalist.

CG: Tell us about your current single, "Bass Down Low."

D: We'd been in the studio writing some really bossy, fun stuff. We've got a studio in the loft that we live in together, so it was made in there. We were just kind of kickin' it and it came. There's one version where The Cataracs are just rapping on it, which I love as well.

CG: You're nominated for a Woody! What does that feel like?

D: Yay! I know it's amazing. I was so excited when I found out. The Woodies are important for our generation. I was just really excited, and loved seeing my fans react to the nomination on Facebook and Twitter. That was really exciting to watch.